Isn't this a great picture of Mitt Romney and his grandson? You may have spotted it in some newspapers yesterday – but not in the Guardian. We noticed it on Monday too. So why didn't we use it?

Well, we had featured him on the front page on Monday morning, so naturally we didn't want to lead with Mitt two days in a row. But also the fact that the presidential debate would be taking place after the newspaper's last editions went to press led to the picture not appearing.

Welcome to our new photography blog. In this forum, which makes up part of our revamped photography page, the Guardian and Observer picture editors and photographers will all pitch in with news and views and answers to questions – on anything in the photographic world that has caught our eye or rattled our cages. We hope you will respond and contribute to the discussion by commenting, suggesting new topics or posing questions for us. Guardian picture editor Fiona Shields will try to explain some of the thinking behind the selection of photographs in the Guardian and Observer, a subject that always arouses readers' curiosity – and sometimes their wrath.

Among other things, we will discuss the big issues facing photography today, such as the growth of smartphone imagery and citizen journalism. But we will also celebrate great work displayed on the walls of galleries and in the press.

We will ask some of our photographers – David Sillitoe, David Levene and others – to try out and write about new photo equipment and techniques. How does the latest gizmo, lens or widget perform in a professional environment? Why is that lens the must-have piece of gear this month? What's the best new software for a photographer's computer?

A contribution from camera club member Souvid Datta. Photograph: Souvid Datta/flickr

The Guardian camera club, our online photo community will of course continue, with Guardian and Observer staff giving their feedback on general portfolios and work produced by members for our monthly assignments, as well as taking part in the discussions generated. The camera club is a great way for us to view your photography. We will use this new blog to expand on some of the topics raised by the assignments and engage with club members. All the blogposts will be open for your comments and views.

Our photography page will now be the hub for all the Guardian and Observer's photo-based coverage, from news and reviews, to interviews and regular features, such as My best shot, Picture desk live, Sean O'Hagan's regular photography columns, Eyewitness and 24 hours in pictures.

Picture of the day: Flowers are lain on the memorial to the Sinti and Roma victims of the Holocaust. Photograph: Thomas Peter/Reuters

We're introducing a new photography feature too: picture of the day. This can be anything from a great hard-news photograph to a stand-out portrait shot for a feature page in one of our magazines. Today it is an expertly composed image of a Holocaust memorial ceremony by photographer Thomas Peter for Reuters (above). We hope that this will inject a bit of the flavour of what it's like to work on a busy photo-desk, where we find ourselves looking through thousands of images every day.

Tell us what you think below, and what you'd like to see more of in the Guardian and Observer's photography coverage.